Survivor's Guilt: Carrie Fisher's 'Wishful Drinking'

FOR SOME PEOPLE, writing is a hobby; for others it's an occupation. For Carrie Fisher, it was a lifesaver. She's performing her autobiography, "Wishful Drinking," at Lincoln Theatre starting Friday.

"Who could relate to my life?" sighed the actress who graced the silver screen (and many dorm room walls) as Princess Leia, one of the galaxy's saviors in George Lucas' space opera "Star Wars." "I can't even relate to my life."

Fisher is far, far away from that character and popular sci-fi series. Her personal story may be filled with stars, but they're of the celebrity variety, and the experience almost left her down and out in Beverly Hills.

It was less than four years ago that Fisher found the dead body of Gregory Stevens, a 42-year-old Republican operative, in her bedroom. It was attributed to an overdose. No stranger to past drug addiction (and a bipolar disorder), the actress reverted to substance abuse.

But she clawed her way back to a secure vantage point — that of an observer — and viewed her life with fresh eyes. "Writing forces you into a perspective. Writing about your own history in a detached way is a gift. It helped me maintain a distance from my life."

Fisher's witty solo performance focuses on her inconceivable childhood as the daughter of Debbie Reynolds, kisses and tells about snogging Harrison Ford, and sheds light on her addiction and struggle with mental illness.

"Taking the tragic and making it into comedy is the best kind of alchemy," she said, her voice parched from smoking and an afternoon on the elliptical machine. "It has to be. It's better to turn the tragic comic, otherwise you become and stay a victim. If you have a powerful mother, the job to individuate is complex. I couldn't bear my mother, like most girls. But I had to accept my parents. It was hard, as it is for all children of powerful people. They're at a disadvantage because there's nothing to hope for when they've gotten everything, been everywhere, met everyone. Their lives plateau before they start."

Fisher and Reynolds are now closer than ever. "We're neighbors now, in fact. I completely respect her."

"Wishful Drinking" plays less like an "E! True Hollywood Story" and more like a self-inflicted Friars Club act. "What is 'Wishful Drinking'?," she muses. "It's a dinner. It's a car. It's, you know, a show. I was writing speeches for a long time, and after awhile, every one turned out to be a roast of George Lucas. My material evolved from there."

Through it all, Fisher has come out on top and in control of her destiny. She's grateful for the stardom that "Star Wars" afforded her. But she is a writer, first and foremost. One of Hollywood's busiest script doctors, she relished the idea of penning her own life's screenplay.

"I like it the best. It gave me back my life. Writing enables me to visit myself and then be able to leave certain parts of my past in the past."

» Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW, opens Fri., through Sept. 28, $55-$74; 202-488-3300, arenastage.org/season/08-09/wishful-drinking/.
(U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express contributor Christopher Correa
Photo by Michael Lamont